Partnerships Director, Churches

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Who is Water Mission?

Water Mission is a nonprofit Christian engineering organization that designs, builds, and implements safe water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) solutions for people in developing countries and disaster areas. Guided by love, excellence, and integrity, we are driven to share clean, safe water and God’s love with all. To date, we have served more than 7 million people in 57 countries. Working at Water Mission is as much a calling as it is a career, and we are searching for people with the courage, passion, and drive to help us change the world. Read more about our Statement of Faith and Christian Mission.

What is the opportunity?

The Church Partnerships Director (Director, Church Partnerships) is responsible for developing, implementing, and strategically leading a national church engagement strategy with Christian churches across the United States. This position will work cross-departmentally to build relationships and increase engagement with church leaders and denominations, equip volunteers, and co-create marketing resources to enhance church involvement in Water Mission’s work. The Church Partnerships Director reports to the Senior Director of Investor Partnerships. The position may be located at Water Mission’s headquarters in N. Charleston, SC, or remotely and will travel approximately 60-80 nights per year.

A successful Partnerships Director will:

• Maintain a strong Christian witness to colleagues, church leaders, vendors, donors, volunteers, those we serve, and the general public.

• Maintain high-level knowledge of Water Mission’s organizational objectives, programmatic strategies, projects, and activities. Stay informed of local, regional, national, and global news and issues to support Water Mission effectively.

• Effectively communicate with a variety of audiences about the global water crisis and Water Mission’s mission, vision, values, and solutions to various audiences.

• Develop and implement an engagement strategy with Christian churches across the United States, in collaboration with other departments, to increase the number of churches involved with Water Mission.

• Serve the church by developing long-term relationships with pastors and church leaders through personal interaction, connecting their interests with those of Water Mission, and driving towards increased engagement.

• Develop and present church leaders with funding and partnership opportunities.

• Serve as the relationship manager to church partners, providing stewardship and impact reports as needed.

• Arrange for church leaders to attend Vision Trips to gain first-hand experience of Water Mission's work and deepen the partnership.

• Commit to regular prayer for church partners, potential church partners, staff, volunteers, and for those we serve.

• Develop strategies, support, resources, contacts, and training to equip staff and volunteers in church relations.

• Working cross-departmentally, co-create and develop resources for church congregations to deepen their understanding of what scripture says about poverty, providing for those in need, and advocating for the vulnerable.

• Receive and archive spiritual impact stories from church partners and share with the Marketing team for use in publications and social media.

• Help develop and maintain technology to schedule and communicate with churches. In addition, use Blackbaud Raiser’s Edge database to track statistical information and program records.

• Use Smartsheet to plan project deliverables, assign tasks, establish timelines, and monitor progress. Ensure project status is kept current and accurate.

What is required?

• Personal and growing relationship with Jesus Christ.

• Alignment with Water Mission’s Statement of Faith and Core Values of Love, Excellence, and Integrity.

• Consistently present a professional image and effectively communicate the mission and purpose of Water Mission.

• Bachelor’s degree required; theological degree is preferred.

• Passion and calling to come alongside churches to grow their involvement in solving the global water crisis.

• Five to seven years of experience as a church leader, pastor, or ministry role engaged in church relations.

• Experience developing strong relationships and partnerships with large churches.

• Demonstrated track record of revenue generation within Christian churches and communities.

• Strong written and verbal communication skills. Experience in effective public speaking.

• Thrives under pressure and has a proven track record of meeting deadlines.

• Ability to work in a highly fluid environment and ability to respond to changing requests.

• Ability to work independently and collaboratively with diverse groups of people.

• Home internet bandwidth strong enough to support video conferencing and other job-related responsibilities is required.

• Able and willing to travel domestically and internationally 60 to 80 nights a year (30%).

• Flexibility to work periodic nights and weekends as required.

• If remote, must travel to N. Charleston headquarters a minimum of two times each year.

• Legal authorization to work in the United States without sponsorship.